


A Song of Silver and Gold (Black x Purple)

by HappyCazzyLyre (Kala0_0sleep)



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Author Needs Input about whether to keep this M or T Rating (view ch 5 for update), Drama, Dynamics of reserved x cheerful characters, F/F, I will pepper in the fact that the protagonist is black (eventually), Intense meetings, Personalities Clash amongst the group, Sapphic :), This is an excuse to write sapphic content with Black Women, Who are the Impostors?, Who are the crewmates?, black women, loud characters, might get spicy later idk, shy characters, some elements Inspired by certain youtube videos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kala0_0sleep/pseuds/HappyCazzyLyre
Summary: Black's plan is simple: go to Polus, work alone, and finish the mission without dying. The first step is easily accomplished, but Purple thwarts the second one, trying to be buddy-buddy with the other woman, but Black can't understand why. They don't know each other, and Black is used to working alone, so why is Purple always trying to be around?Maybe it’s time for Black to trust someone other than herself.
Relationships: Black/Purple (Among Us), perhaps onesided Green/Orange
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	1. Make New Friends but Keep the Old. One Is Silver, and the Other’s Gold.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, okay, so I didn't know there were Among Us fanfics until a friend sent me a funny post about it, so I had to know what was going on, and I got very invested in the stories. I've decided to add my own to the mix. This fic may or not be a thing because I'm crushing on someone-shhhh. Get ready for a small journey :)

Black exhaled as the lights came on, seeing her new crewmates scramble like wild chickens before going to the keys at the front of the station on Planet Polus. Once the crowd started to disperse, Black paced to the task and rotated her key until she heard a clicking sound. When she turned around, Black startled back as a purple suit bounced into her view.

“Um, excuse me,” Black sighed, side-stepping Purple.

Purple pranced after her.

“Hey, Black, I thought we could do tasks together! Wouldn’t that be fun?” asked Purple.

“No, I do my tasks alone.”

Purple tilted her head, confused. “Oh, but aren’t you scared that there might be an impostor here?”

Black halted in her tracks, causing Purple to bump into the other’s back. Of course, Black was terrified of an impostor being on board; everyone in their right mind should be. The crewmates had been briefed on the possibility before they set foot on the planet—and how to deal with an impostor—and Black had made up her mind to avoid being near any other member so that she could finish her tasks in peace. She didn’t need Purple reminding her of the danger.

Black turned to look at the other woman and studied her. Like everyone, Purple wore the standard space suit but also had on a blue winter hat with cream trimmings. Nothing about her screamed bloodthirsty monster, but Black didn’t have enough information to even claim that Purple could be a legitimate crewmate.

“Purple—”

“Yes?” Purple chirped.

Black leaned over the other woman, staring down with impassionate eyes. “What if I told I was an impostor?”

Purple froze, shrinking under the other’s gaze.

“If I were an impostor, you would be making a big mistake by following me, yes?”

Purple continued looking up at the taller woman and scarcely breathed.

“Answer me, Purple.”

“Y-yes, I-I’d be making a mistake, Black.”

“Exactly. It’s the same for me. I don’t trust you. You shouldn’t trust me.”

Black began strolling away when Purple called out to her, “Oh-h, okay! I wish you well on your tasks then, Black.”

The smile was apparent in Purple’s voice, and Black didn’t want to be too rude, despite what she had said, and replied, “You too.”

.~Time skip~.

Black was in the laboratory near the specimen door doing wires when the lights went out. Rather than getting upset, Black inhaled deeply before releasing the breath. Lights going out was an inconvenience, but someone else would take care of it—

Would they?

Black went back to fixing wires, ignoring the nagging thought that no one would go to lights.

It was quiet in the lab. While she knew that the station was going to be huge, the silence was unexpected. The machines should have been making more noise, she thought, but it was kind of nice to be alone in the quiet darkness. If Black allowed herself to enjoy it, she could loosen up a little and meander to her next task. She could never relax around other people. Even during orientation and training when she should have been getting to know some of her potential crewmates, she stuck to herself mostly.

A shiver ran through Black then, and she felt her skin crawling. Something had changed like the air had grown heavier. The lights were still off, so she couldn’t identify why unless she ventured around almost blindly. She started walking toward the telescope when she ran into Purple.

“Black!” exclaimed Purple, grasping Black’s hand, “I’m glad to see someone again! I got so scared when the lights went out. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“Why didn’t you fix lights if you were so scared?”

“Well . . .” Purple drifted off with a nervous chuckle. “I was doing tasks with Orange for a bit until I suddenly couldn’t see anymore, and I lost her, but I didn’t want to go anywhere alone, so I tried looking for someone else. I ran into a lot of people, but I kept losing them. I get so mixed up in the darkness!”

Black sighed, wondering if Purple was just determined to buddy up with her through a convoluted scheme or if she really was ditzy in the dark.

“Purple, I told you before, I do tasks alone.”

“But even—”

Suddenly a loud buzzer went off, and Purple made a surprised noise as her sentence got cut off. It was the sound for a meeting. Purple squeezed Black’s hand as they both treaded to the meeting room in the dark.

Once everyone settled into the room, Red sputtered, “I think I saw a body—”

“You think?” Lime interrupted. “You either do or you don’t. Which is it?”

Red gulped, “Um! The body was Cyan’s. She was at the entrance of the station.”

“At the entrance, hmmm, and why did you go back?” Orange asked.

“I thought I left something behind and went to go check, but when I got there,” she paused, shaking as she tried to hold herself together, “but when I got there, I found Cyan, and she was, was dead.”

“Wow, for real? Cyan is dead? I thought we were here for, like, a bonding activity,” mused Pink. He scratched his helmet before seeming to realize he couldn’t reach his hair.

These were some of her crewmates, Black wondered.

“No, Pink, you’re thinking about orientation,” Orange replied. She looked at everyone around the table. “Okay, we should get everyone’s alibi—”

“Alibi! We need to hear everyone’s alibi to figure out who killed Cyan,” White trumpeted.

Green snapped, “That’s literally what Orange was about to say, White. Anyway, I never saw Cyan except at the beginning. I was with Brown the entire time.”

“Can you confirm this, Brown?” asked Orange. Seeing the man in question looking far off, she shook the distracted crewmate’s shoulder.

He shook his head and blinked before answering, “Yep, I’ve been Green. We were at weapons. Oo, you should have seen all the asteroids! The different shapes and indentations were amazing because they likely mean—”

“Alright, Brown, you don’t need to go into your monologue like you did with me.”

Orange then took back the conversation and got the alibis or lack thereof from everyone else. No one else had solid ones, although Orange and Purple were together when the lights were on. The rest had at least passed each other, seemingly everyone except for Red and Black.

Lime gazed at Black, a suspicious glint in his eyes. “So, Black, where were you during this murder?”

“I was doing wires in lab,” Black stated.

White jumped in, “So you were in lab, and during all this time no one saw you?”

“Well—”

“Black definitely couldn’t have killed anyone. I saw her head away from the entrance, and after the lights went out, we found each other and headed to lab. We held hands except for when she did her task,” Purple chimed.

Black stared at Purple with a raised eyebrow.

Green leaned forward. “And you decide to tell this information now?”

Purple gestured nervously as she admitted, “I thought we were going in order. Sorry.”

“That doesn’t mean she didn’t do it. She could have killed earlier when the lights were on.”

Red hesitantly raised her hand to grab everyone’s attention, commenting, “She could have, but I don’t think she could have. I mean, the body, the body looked kinda—I hate to this—fresh like it had just fallen over or something. The blood hadn’t dried. I feel so bad for stepping in it!”

Orange raised her head. “And I hate to say this, but we don’t have enough evidence—"

“We can’t determine the killer!”

Everyone could feel the grin emitting from White and the glare Green threw at the crewmate.

Orange rubbed her forehead out of habit and sighed. “As I was saying before I got interrupted, we have no leads, so we shouldn’t randomly vote. I suggest we pair up with someone, with one group having three people, for safety.”

Lime smirked. "I'll back up the ladies, Black and Purple, then. I won't let them out of my sight, so don’t worry about anyone sneaking upon us."

While Purple cheered about being in a trio, Black stood calmly but was conflicted. Her plan for the mission—to go alone—was shot, and her second plan—to ask Purple why she had lied for her—was also gone since Lime would be tagging along as well. She hadn’t thought that anyone would consider voting without any evidence and especially after the majority of crewmates had no solid alibis, but Lime and White had been so quick to jump on her case. She would have to rely on the buddy system, as much as she detested it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	2. A Circle Is Round; It Has no End. That’s how long I will be Your Friend.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something tense 0_o, something cute *-*
> 
> Currently dead: Cyan. Nine "crewmates" remaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's wondering, Cyan is indeed fuming in dead chat about being murdered and seeing the rest of the crewmates struggling. She's still doing tasks, but she's salty.

Despite how Green had acted toward Brown earlier, they strolled toward specimen together. Red kept glancing at Orange until Orange asked if the other would accompany her, and Red answered back in agreement as if surprised. They went and fixed lights. That left Pink and White together.

Walking away, Lime took out his tablet and scanned it. “I’ve got tasks in storage. Let’s go.”

“Wait, you didn’t even ask what we had,” Black commented. Lime kept walking forward.

Purple took Black’s hand again, tugging her to move forward. “Actually, I’ve got a task in storage, too, so I don’t mind going there.”

Black swallowed. “You don’t have to hold my hand, you know, Purple.”

Purple leaned closer, whispering, “I know, but I’m worried that Lime might be suspicious of you if I don’t keep an eye on you. I don’t think you killed Cyan, and I can’t explain it, but I think you’re one of the few people I can really trust on this mission, Black.”

“But what I said—”

“I know what you said, but to me it proves that you’re being cautious and want me to be cautious, too. I doubt a killer would tell me that, so I think we can both help each other by sticking together.” The opaque visor allowed Black to see that the other woman gave a tiny wink, but she couldn’t see her face clearly.

Black walked with Purple and Lime in stunned silence to storage.

Just as they entered the room, the meeting buzzer went off. They all ran back to the oval table where Pink and White were. Soon the other groups trickled in.

Green was the first to speak. “Alright, why are we here? Everyone’s accounted for.”

Pink waved his hand to gesture that he had called the meeting. “I think we should have a nice chat and get to know each other like that orientation Orange talked about.”

White nodded. “Yes, a bonding activity would surely improve the mood!”

Black was speechless.

“Cyan died though,” Red whimpered. “Someone among us killed her.”

Orange slammed her hands on the table. “Are you even taking this seriously?”

“Of course, I am! But a leader should improve the morale of the crewmates, and Pink’s suggestion sounds like a great idea.”

Green got in White’s face and shouted, “Then you’re a terrible leader who can’t read the room, White. Just let Orange lead. She’s way better at it.”

Green and White went into a shouting match that got even more heated when Lime butted in and speculated that Green was simply simping for Orange.

“Everyone!” Orange boomed, silencing the room. “Do your task, don’t call a meeting unless you have important information or discover a body, and stay with your buddy. Got it?”

A mix of weak and confident agreements followed, and the crewmates returned to their groups and waddled to their tasks.

As soon as Purple, Lime, and Black enter storage, the door locked behind them, and the lights went out. Purple’s grip on Black’s hands tightened.

“Again!” Lime exclaimed. “What’s with this place? Is everything falling apart?”

“Maybe,” Black wondered aloud. “There might be something else going on though.”

“Whatever it is, we can still do tasks. I’ll hold Black’s hand,” Purple said, giving Black a comforting squeeze before loosening her grip, “and hold onto part of Lime’s suit while he does his tasks—”

Suddenly Black found herself lurching forward and stumbled to keep herself upright, a loud series of crashing and squeaking noises followed.

“Ouch!” Groaned Purple.

Black managed to find Purple’s hand in the darkness. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I stepped forward, and something on the ground made my foot slip. I guess I knocked down some equipment.”

“Sit down.”

“Huh?”

“Sit down. I want to make sure nothing serious happened to you. Something small but sharp could have fallen from the shelves and punctured you or suit, somewhere you wouldn’t feel it as well. Just keep holding onto to part of Lime’s suit while I check.”

“O-okay. . .”

Black felt Purple’s left leg first and gently applied pressure as she went. “Does it hurt anywhere I press?”

“N-no.”

She moved to the next leg. “Good. Here?” Purple gave a tiny noise before replying no again. “I don’t feel any small tears, so your suit should be fine there. I trust you will check your torso if need be, but did anywhere else on your body hit the floor?”

“Unless you want to give my helmet a kiss, I’m good!” Purple joked, a little breathless.

Black sighed, and Purple was about to say she was kidding when Black leaned forward and placed a soft kiss above the visor of Purple’s helmet.

“Better?”

“…”

Lime decided to cut in with a sarcastic comment. “How cute of Black to kiss Purple’s boo-boo away. Bet she feels all better now.”

He must have just gotten out of his task. Black internally cursed herself for forgetting the other person in the room. He had been so silent, or perhaps she had been more focused on Purple than she realized. She could scarcely believe what she had just done herself. Merely an hour ago, she had warned Purple that she was wary of the supposed crewmate and that Purple should do the same with her, yet there Black was kissing the same woman—

Black felt her temperature rise and her heart pound harder. She had kissed Purple! It was Purple’s helmet, yes, but the act itself surprised her. The casual, effortless movement should have been everything but casual or effortless. Black had never really taken an active interest in anyone before, sufficed—settled—to admire others from afar. For some reason, her mind became jumbled the more her thoughts stayed on that track.

"I'll do my t-task now," Purple mumbled, lifting herself from the ground. She guided Black's hand to her shoulder so that they would still be touching while Purple did her job.

Black could hear the smirk in Lime’s voice as he said, "I sure do feel left out of this--"

The meeting alarm blared again. They went back to the room, but now it was different. As soon as they entered, crewmates threw shouts and screams at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next time!


	3. A Fire Burns Bright, It Warms the Heart. We’ve Been Friends from the very Start.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew gets further divided after another murder while Purple tries to get closer to Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dead: Cyan, ??  
> Alive: ??  
> Hmmm tension :)

Red pointed a wobbly, frantic finger at Green. "Green killed Brown!"

"What, no!" Green exclaimed. “He and I were—"

"Yes, you did! I know it."

"Wow, you're actually certain this time, Red?" Lime commented although he took a step away from Green.

Purple moved a few inches closer to Black, nearly touching her before Black moved to press herself shoulder to shoulder with the other.

"Hold on. We need to explain the situation clearly to get the facts. Red and I were in comms when we found the body," Orange stated. Despite her determined gaze and straightened stance, she drummed her fingers on the table nervously.

Green started to say, "Brown and I were also in comms--"

"We don't need to hear anything from Green! I know what I saw," Red interrupted. She was quivering with tears in her eyes. "I saw you come through the vent and slice Brown in two! You murdered him and were about to get away until the report happened."

Green nearly leaped onto the table. "I can't vent! It's literally impossible for any human to go through those vents. Are you stupid, Red?! Those things are the width of a bread box! No, you're probably trying to pin me for a murder you did."

The air froze. Black felt her lungs seize as the word vent bounced inside her skull.

Red could only squeak out, "Wh-hat?"

"Yeah, that's right. You probably killed Cyan and now you've killed Brown and you're trying to blame me for your kills!"

"She was the only other person alone last time and did report the last body too," White added.

"Exactly, she—"

"But she saw you vent, Green," Orange said, strained. "There's a possibility that the murderer we're looking for isn't… human. We were briefed on the possibility that the impostor might not be like us."

Black saw Pink straighten his posture for the first time. His scared voice asked, "Wait, are you really saying we have an alien impostor?"

Green stared at the de facto leader of the crewmates, disbelief plain in his body language. "Orange, you can't be seriously saying that A) I'm an impostor and B) that I'm an alien because that's what it sounds like you're accusing me of and they're both wrong answers. I wouldn't have killed Brown. As weird as it might seem, I liked hanging out with the guy."

"Wouldn’t kill or were you waiting for the right time?" White questioned.

Black managed to look at him despite her growing panic. He seemed to have changed, no longer as foolishly and cheerfully arrogant as before. A grimness hung on him.

He continued, "We haven't considered that there might be two impostors."

Some of the crewmates gasped while others were too shocked to utter a sound.

Lime was the first to recover. "Wait, who reported the body?"

"Me," Orange responded, a bit dazed by the possible revelation.

"Then what White said makes sense. Maybe this was a failed double kill by Green AND Red. They were supposed to kill you and Brown, but you reported the body before one could kill you, and now they’re throwing each other under the bus."

"WHAT?" screamed Red and Green with varying pitches.

The horrible words were nipping and biting inside Black's head even as she stood stock-still. An impostor, then an alien impostor, and now two impostors. No. No. No. No. No. It was getting harder to breathe in her suit. She was locked inside her body, unable to move her limbs in any way.

Despite the chaos in her mind, however, calm words slithered from Black’s mouth. "We have to vote."

White and Lime nodded instantly. A sliver of Purple came into Black’s view, and Black’s hand snaked out to grasp the other woman’s for comfort, though Black herself didn’t realize she had done that.

"Who do we vote for?" Pink wondered, nervously rubbing the back of his helmet.

Orange exhaled, a steely gaze trained on Green. "We vote Green."

Green didn’t make a noise, couldn’t with the shocked expression freezing his face.

"Thank goodness!" Red cried. She sniffled weakly.

"And then we vote Red," White added with a solemn tone.

Red's eyes pivoted to White. "What, no! There’s only one impostor, and it’s Green!"

Everyone except Green voted, who didn't move at all to choose anyone. He just stared at Orange with a crumbled look to which Orange returned with an emotionless gaze. Green fell into the lava. Throughout that voting, Red was screaming her innocence and thrashing in her spot, but when the next meeting was called moments after Green’s demise, the rest voted for her while Red voted for White. Red dropped into the lava with a piercing holler.

No, Black thought, Red and Green were pushed; they had pushed them in. They had to though. Both were the impostors. At least one of them was the impostor. Cyan and Brown were murdered by either Red or Green, maybe both. Black kept oscillating between one impostor and two impostors. As she kept spiraling, Orange suggested the remaining crewmates take the rest of the day to recuperate after the tragedies of the day. Unsurprisingly, they consented aloud, those who could talk anyhow.

While Orange, Pink, Lime, and White left the room, Black was stuck grappling with the previous events in the meeting room. Purple looked up to Black, snapping her fingers in front of the other woman’s face.

“Black?”

Black shook her head and focused on Purple in front of her. “Yes?”

“Are you okay? No, that’s a dumb question. How could any of us be okay after a day like today? We went from confused little babies scrambling to find our tasks to detectives trying to find impostors.”

“That was kind of a dumb question, but you did a good analogy,” Black said, a tiny chuckle passing through her lips.

“It’s nice to hear you laugh, Black. I’ve never heard it before.”

Black sputtered, “Well, we haven’t known each other long enough.”

Purple fidgeted with her fingers and looked off to the side. “So…you don’t remember me, Black?”

“Huh?”

“Follow me. I’d rather not talk about this here.”

Purple grabbed Black’s hand once more and took her to lab where the beds were. For some reason, Black’s heart decided to do flips all the way there. Once they got inside, Purple led the other to a bed and stepped back. She bounced on the balls of her feet. Black wasn’t sure what to expect. Grasping her helmet, Purple began unclamping its latches.

“Wait!” Black shouted, waving her hands. “We’re not supposed to see each other’s faces during the mission. It complicates things—”

Purple got closer, splaying her hands on Black’s lap, and stared up at the other woman. “But, Black, it’s going to be fine. We got rid of the impostor, and if White was right, we got rid of them both. You and I both know that rule is only in place because Command worries that impostors would inflict psychological damage if crewmates knew each other personally and someone got killed, but we’re safe though.” She leaned forward and pressed helmets with Black. “We’re safe, and I want you to know who I am.”

Black backed away from the other woman and avoided eye contact. “No, we shouldn’t. I shouldn’t get close to anyone. It’s easier if I don’t know anyone.”

“Why are you so afraid, Black?”

“It’s easier if I don’t know—”

“No, Black, what’s made you so scared?”

Black fell silent, letting the question float in the air. She knew why, always had, but it became easier to ignore the stinging with time. She had buried it, refusing to dig up and allow anyone else to see it, so it burrowed deeper inside her.

Black hopped off the bed. “I’m going to get dinner.”

.~Time skip~.

The conversation echoed in Black’s ears, conflicting thoughts picking it apart. The niggling thought of who Purple was rose prominently to the front. However, an equally pressing one also came up: Purple seemed to know her identity without seeing Black’s face. She somehow knew it, but Black hadn’t shown it to any of the crewmates. Even when she had exposed herself—she grew flustered at her inner wording—to kiss the other woman—she felt even hotter—Purple couldn’t have seen her because of the angle. No, she must have known before that moment, right?

As Black was passing by comms, a heated conversation emanated from the tiny room. She couldn’t place who was talking and didn’t want to go inside as the volume increased to shouting. Backing up slightly, she spied through the window an orange suit. The other person must have been further away. Black sneaked away from the verbal exchange and headed for the female crewmate bunk room. Two beds would be empty with Cyan and Red absent—one murdered and the other… also—

Black shook her head and tried breathing to calm herself down.

Orange was the next to arrive inside, posture haggard until she noticed Black. Straightening up, she gave a curt nod as a greeting and climbed into a bed. She must have been exhausted because a little over ten minutes later Black heard tiny snores from across the room.

Around twenty minutes later, Purple trotted in, incidentally making eye contact with Black, and waved at her before going to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite Purple trying to assure Black that it's safe now, o(TヘTo) Black is still too scared to open up. WhhhyyyyyyyyyY
> 
> See you next time.


	4. You Have One Hand. I have the Other. Put Them Together. We Have Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a little separation can clarify things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With our pantheon of the dead including Cyan, Brown, Green, and Red, the dead chat is lively with yelling, arguing, and some tasking-doing, but is that so different for the living? You’d think the living crewmates would be able to breathe easier after the events of yesterday, but things are still tense!

The next morning, the remaining crewmates briefly met up. Orange, Purple, and Black strode into the office first, Purple keeping a slight but noticeable distance between herself and Black, then Pink and Lime traipsed in, and lastly White plodded to the side of the table near the window. White surveyed everyone present.

“We should—” “We need to—”

Orange and White glared at each other.

Lime teased, “Oh, no, not the couple is fighting—”

“Shut up, Lime!” Orange and White barked.

He waved his hands in surrender and shrugged.

White and Orange went back to their intimidation stare down.

Pink shuffled to Lime and muttered, “Yeah, I don’t think a couple argues this much.”

Lime rolled his eyes behind his visor.

Raising her hand, Purple suggested, “Maybe we should all decide for ourselves what we do since we probably don’t have to worry as much now.”

The impostor part went unspoken.

Black nodded. “We might as well go about our tasks the way we want to. Be cautious in our own way or group up if we wish to.”

White opened his mouth only for Orange to interrupt, “That’s a suggestion I believe everyone can agree to. We decide for ourselves. What do you think, White?”

“That’s an interesting idea, but I think crewmates need a unified plan.”

“And what would that unified plan look like if we already have a suggestion that works?”

They continued banding harsh words, and no one else could interject, so Lime, Pink, Black, and Purple left the room and entered the adjacent room with the vitals monitor.

“Welp, I’ve got to scan, so see you all later!” Pink exclaimed, trotting away.

Lime gave a tiny mock salute to the remaining women. “See ya.”  
With his exit, Purple and Black were left in silence on the right side of the office. It suddenly felt uncomfortably hot and somewhat sweaty in Black’s suit. The questions from earlier swirled around Black, but her mouth remained firmly shut. Would Purple even accept the reason why Black shut her out, or would it turn out the same as always?

Before Black could further stress on what to do, Purple interrupted her thoughts.

“I’m sorry about early. I made you uncomfortable, didn’t I?”

“No, it’s fine, Purple. You don’t need to apologize.”

The hatted woman swayed a bit as she lifted her hand to the side of her helmet. “I feel like I should though. I overstepped and got too… noisy without thinking about your feelings. I really am sorry.”

Black licked the inside of her mouth and swallowed. “I said you didn’t need to… but thanks. I’m not used to this type of situation.”

“Apologies?” Purple asked, quirking her head to the side.

“Not that. I-it doesn’t matter anyway. We should get back to tasks.”

“You’re right. It almost slipped my mind.” Purple chuckled, which sounded pleasantly soft to Black. “I know you like doing tasks alone, so I’ll see you around then. I’ve got weapons to do.”

Purple began bouncing to the south exit.

 _“You’re not coming with me?”_ The words hovered over her tongue, but Black couldn’t form the sounds to make her thoughts known—it was as if her voice was paralyzed—but why was she thinking it in the first place? She had been trying to do tasks alone since the beginning.

Purple stopped at the door frame, turned to Black once more, and waved goodbye before continuing to her destination.

.~Time skip~.

After Black shook herself from her stupor, she trekked through admin, seeing Lime at the glowing green table, and then went into decontamination. It felt weird to go alone. The steam sprayed her suit, and a few seconds later the door opened for her to go through. Unlike yesterday in the lab, however, there was some noise here: the sound of snow lightly pelting the tunnel and then the sloshing of liquids in the specimen room. The beeps from pressing the buttons on the 1-10 keypad temporarily broke the silence, but it just made the room feel eerier.

Still, it was mostly quiet, a lonely quiet, for Black, but this was how she operated. With the impostors gone now, she shouldn’t stop going solo, right? She hadn’t had trouble in the last few missions doing it. Then again, there hadn’t been impostors on those missions. She shivered. _No impostors that she had known of_. It wasn’t like the crewmates knew much about impostors or their full capabilities. Command gave some information on them, but even that sparse. She went over what little she did learn: able to vent, shapeshift, and mimic human behavior.

She began examining and sorting the artifacts into their proper positions in the cooler as she thought on the last thing Command had mentioned. Most worryingly, impostors could sabotage some of the vital equipment at a mission’s location. The faulty lights must have been because of the impostor, Black speculated. Finding two bodies in the dark was highly improbable and too coincidental really. Suddenly the thought of Purple stumbling around in the darkness came to mind. Black rolled her eyes, a mirthful huff rolling out of her mouth. Even when she wasn’t around, Black couldn’t shake Purple from her.

A sharp pang struck Black’s chest, an overwhelming sensation despite its shortness. She didn’t want to be alone in specimen anymore; the solitude wasn’t as comforting as it once was. She needed to find Purple, needed to know why she felt, well, whatever she felt toward the other woman. She could come back to do Simon Says later with Purple tagging—

Deafening, monotonous blares belted out into the air, red flashing lights accompanying the monstrous noises. Black clutched her ear as the racket rocketed around in her skull, and she staggered to get back into a standing position. Finally reoriented, she checked her tablet and fumbled to catch it when she saw the blinking “Reset Seismic Stabilizers T-minus 47 seconds (0/2)” on its screen. The air seemed to crystalize in her chest, grating her lungs as she forced herself to breathe. 39 seconds. Black made a mad dash out of specimen and upper decontamination. 31 seconds.

_There’s another impostor. There’s another impostor. There’s another impostor. There’s another **impostor**._

“PURPLE.” Black didn’t even realize she had shouted the other’s name.

As she shot out of the laboratory into the cold atmosphere, Black saw Orange running to the right stabilizer. 26 seconds. A second of hesitating between finding Purple and dealing with the seismic stabilizers later, Black went to the left stabilizer, vowing to find the other woman afterward. After resetting the rumbling tower, Black spun around to search for Purple, smashing into the woman herself instead and falling to the ground. Purple offered her a hand.

“Sorry about that, Black. I was in such a hurry to get here—”

Black took Purple’s hand to stand and embraced her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, Happy Halloween! I can’t celebrate it this year, but I hope you have a good one!
> 
> I might try to revamp the summary. I'm so bad at those.


End file.
